mums229 Richard E. Lloyd Daybook, 1859-1862 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Lisa May. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, MA

2002

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Eric Cartier. 2002-11-25 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mu95 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Special Collections and University ArchivesW.E.B. Du Bois LibraryUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst Richard E. Lloyd Daybook, 1859-1862 Finding Aid Manuscript Number 229 Compiled by Lisa May February 1989 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Lloyd, Richard E., b. 1834 Richard E. Lloyd Daybook 1859-1862 MS 229 1 volume (0.25 linear ft.) Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst Owner of a general store in Fair Haven, Vermont. Includes numbered accounts of customers (many with Welsh surnames), lists of items purchased, the price per measure, forms of payment (cash, goods, services, credit, making clothes), and the goods that were sold (such as fabrics, ready-made clothes, eggs and dairy products, fruits and nuts, garden seeds, cutlery and tinware, and jewelry). English. Biographical Note

Richard E. Lloyd was born in 1834 in Wales. By 1859 he had moved to Fair Haven, Vermont, and opened a general store. The 1860 census lists him as unmarried, boarding with townspeople. His net worth was set at $400. Over the next ten years, Lloyd's wealth increased. By 1869 he owned three buildings on Main Street in Fair Haven: his house, the store, and a building he rented out. The 1870 census values his personal estate at $6000 and his real estate at $9000. By 1870, Lloyd had married a Welsh-born woman and had three children. His household also included his clerk, the clerk's wife, and a servant.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The ledger is a single-volume daybook for the years 1859-1862. The pages are numbered on both sides, from 1-452; the last page is unnumbered. Entries were made at the time of purchase and list items purchased, the price per measure, and payment. Most entries are headed with a name, so family and individual-buying habits are also documented. Each account is numbered, suggesting that final accounts were kept in another ledger. Account numbers as high as 533 appear in the first few pages, indicating this was probably not Lloyd's opening ledger.

Lloyd's store offered a wide variety of goods: fabrics, ready-made clothes, cutlery and tinware, garden seeds, fresh fruits and nuts, eggs and dairy products, even jewelry. Most transactions were charges, with some people paying cash. Lloyd accepted both goods and services for credit. Making clothes was the most frequent means of credit. It is unclear whether these clothes were for Lloyd personally or for sale in the store.

The majority of Lloyd's customers were Welsh, with names like Lloyd, Griffith, Morgan, and Thomas, reflecting an important development in Fair Haven's history. In these years the town had a large Welsh population. Slate quarries, developing in the 1840s, had attracted Welsh miners from Pennsylvania and from Wales.

Women rarely appear in this ledger, although it is possible that credit goods or services were produced by women while the actual credits were listed under their husbands or fathers. Women sometimes earned credit under their own names by sewing or washing.

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Richard E. Lloyd Daybook (MS 229). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Acquired from: Charles Apfelbaum, 1987.

Processed by Lisa May, February 1989.

Search Terms Lloyd, Richard E., b. 1834. General stores--Vermont--Fair Haven (Town)--History--19th century--Sources. Consumers--Vermont--Fair Haven (Town)--History--19th century--Sources. Consumer goods--Vermont--Fair Haven (Town)--Prices--History--19th century--Sources. Shopping--Vermont--Fair Haven (Town)--History--19th century--Sources. Barter--Vermont--Fair Haven (Town)--History--19th century--Sources. Welsh Americans--Vermont--Fair Haven (Town)--History--19th century--Sources. Fair Haven (Vt. : Town)--Economic conditions--19th century--Sources. Fair Haven (Vt. : Town)--History--19th century--Biography--Sources. Account books.